Clarisse Hart
About
I am a principal investigator and organizational leader at Harvard Forest, a 4,000-acre center for research and education in ecology and conservation since 1907. I direct the Forest’s education, communications, and public outreach initiatives: I manage the Fisher Museum; communicate Harvard Forest research findings to the media and the public; oversee educational programming for K-12, university, and public groups; mentor staff and students; write grants and fundraise; and serve as liaison to the students and faculty of Harvard University.
Every day, my work as a leader and educator is guided by the fact that the land Harvard Forest manages and benefits from is the unceded home territory of the Nipmuc People. I am personally committed to continuing to build a relationship with the Nipmuc community that ensures that this land and its life-giving benefits are mutually accessible, affirming, and sustaining. I am humbled and grateful to serve as the Forest’s primary liaison to local tribal communities, and in this role, I contribute to a number of local and regional land and education projects led by Nipmuc leaders including Nia Holley, Keely Curliss, and Cheryll Toney Holley.
With colleagues around the region, I collaborate on several research projects in science communication and social justice.
I regularly mentor students and lead trainings on science communication and stakeholder engagement. Feel free to browse and borrow my lesson plans!
With colleagues from around the U.S., I co-founded the Science Communication & Engagement section of the Ecological Society of America, and I have also co-chaired working groups on science communication, higher education, diversity and inclusion, and art for the US Long-Term Ecological Research Network.
I originally came to the Harvard Forest in 2007 as a research assistant, working on the community dynamics of arthropods (spiders, ants, and beetles) in bogs and forests. Prior to that work, I was a research assistant and naturalist with the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies, studying humpback whale population dynamics and educating diverse audiences about marine ecosystems.
The Salata Institute
The Salata Institute supports interdisciplinary research that leads to real-world action, including high-risk/high-reward projects by researchers already working in the climate area and new endeavors that make it easier for Harvard scholars, who have not worked on climate problems, to do so. Faculty interested in the Climate Research Clusters program should note an upcoming deadline for concepts on April 1, 2024.